(Defunct) Premium Bus Service 564

Premium Bus Service 564 has been withdrawn.

Premium Bus Service 564 is a Premium service operated by Commute Solutions from Farrer Road to Temasek Blvd. The route passes through Holland Road, Grange Road, Outram Road and Cecil Street, operating one trip in the morning. Prior to its transfer of operations to Commute Solutions, is was the only SBS Transit Premium route to not ply expressways.

History:

• 2008 (30 Jun): Introduced as a Premium Service from Farrer Rd → Fullerton Rd, with one trip departing at 0800hrs. Charges a flat fare of $3.60
• 2009 (01 Apr): Fare temporarily lowered to $3.40
• 2009 (05 Oct): Amended to ply Cecil Street (previously Robinson Rd)
• 2010 (01 Jul): Fare reinstated to $3.60
• 2011 (08 Nov): Fare revised to $3.80
• 2014 (04 Aug): Fare revised to $4.00
• 2015 (16 Apr): Start of additional bus deployed due to passenger incident the day before.
• 2016 (27 Jun): Designated wheelchair-accessible bus route (WAB)
• 2016 (15 Aug): Transfer of operations to Commute Solutions. Route extended to Temasek Blvd, number of trips reduced from two to one.
• 2017 (03 Jan): Cash fare revised to $7.00

Operator History:

• 30 Jun 2008 – 12 Aug 2016: SBS Transit Ltd
• 15 Aug 2016 onwards: Commute Solutions LLP

Premium 564 serves the housing estates, private estates and condominiums around Farrer Road and Holland Road with bus connections to the CBD. It provides a more convenient alternative route for residents who would otherwise rely on the MRT or other bus routes to reach the city. This service is fully covered by alternative routes to the city: Service 186 and Service 75 head from Farrer and Holland to Shenton Way respectively.

This route does not ply any expressways, the only SBS Transit Premium service to do so.

Two trips are operated in the mornings, departing Farrer Road (Opp Lutheran Twrs) at 8:00am on weekdays at the same time. The addition of one bus was in response to a commuter incident as described below. The presence of alternative bus routes indicate that the route mainly caters to the niche market of commuters.

With the takeover of operations by Commuter Solutions LLP from 15 Aug 2016, trip timings were reduced back to one morning trip from two. The route was also extended to Temasek Blvd via Marina Blvd. It will no longer call at Fullerton Square.

Commuter Incident:

Premium 564 became the subject of public interest on 15 Apr 2015 when an online video showed standing passengers being forced to alight from the bus. As per LTA regulations, Premium services are allowed not to have standing passengers. On that day, the replacement Scania K230UB bus with lower seating capacity than the regular Volvo B10M Mark IV Strider bus (30 seats versus 46 seats) resulted in passengers being denied boarding. The incident was widely reported by local media, with many criticizing the rigidity of SBS Transit and LTA in disallowing standing passengers on Premium services.

SBS Transit commented that a 35-seater bus (most likely a Mercedes-Benz Citaro) was intended to be deployed, but the 30-seater Scania K230UB ran instead ‘due to exigencies’. This arrangement was performed to facilitate the retirement of the older 46-seater bus. They also added that the service had an average ridership of 35 passengers.

The following day (16 Apr 2015), two 35-seater Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses were deployed on the service in response to the incident. The two-bus arrangement has been in place ever since the incident, until the last day of SBS Transit operations on 12 Aug 2016.

Operating Days: Weekdays only. Does not operate on Weekends and Public Holidays.

Fare:
EZ Link Card – $4.00; Cash – $7.00.
Transfer rebates & concessionary travel are not applicable.

Fleet: Premium 564 operates on private buses.

Route Information:

Gallery:

External Links:

• PublicTransport@sg
• TransitLink E-guide
• http://sgwiki.com/wiki/Buses

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